Clarence Lucas (October 19, 1866 – July 2, 1947), was a Canadian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

, conductor, and music professor. Lucas was born at Six Nations Reserve, Ontario and was a student of

Romain-Octave Pelletier I Romain-Octave Pelletier I (sometimes spelled Peltier) (9 September 1843 – 4 March 1927) was a Canadian organist, pianist, composer, writer on music, and music educator. Early life and career Born in Montreal, Pelletier was a member of a prom ...

. He taught at the

Toronto College of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

, taught in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

, and was the musical director at Wesleyan Ladies College in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. In

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he tutored pupils in composition, proofread music for Chappel publishing, and was a correspondent and then editor for the magazine ''

Musical Courier The ''Musical Courier'' was a weekly 19th- and 20th-century American music trade magazine that began publication in 1880. The publication included editorials, obituaries, announcements, scholarly articles and investigatory writing about musical ...

'' which he later held in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

, just outside Paris, Lucas freelanced as a music transcriber, arranger, lyricist, and translator. He also contributed to ''Etude'', a musical periodical. Lucas conducted works by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

, Michael Costa,

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

, and others. He toured the British Isles as a conductor for the Irish musical ''Peggy Machree'', and the United States for Grieg's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

''. Lucas' first wife was the English pianist Clara Asher (who had studied with

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

) and their son was the British composer and conductor

Leighton Lucas Leighton Lucas (5 January 1903 – 1 November 1982) was an English composer and conductor. Born into a musical family (his father, Clarence Lucas, was also a noted composer and his mother Clara Asher-Lucas a concert pianist), he began his career ...

(1903 - 1982). She died in 1942. His second wife was Gertrude Pidd, a musician. In the early 1900s, Lucas composed ''Overture Macbeth'', a piece inspired by the Shakespeare play. The work had not been performed for nearly 100 years, until July 2018, where the music was orchestrated and recorded by the Symphonova Orchestra, to mark the Canadian sesquicentennial. ''Overture Macbeth'' can be found on the collection ''La Patrie - Our Canada'', distributed by the Canadian Music Centre. He authored ''The Story of Musical Form'' (1908, London). Lucas composed music for voice, choir, organ, piano and orchestra. He wrote overtures, cantatas, symphonies, operas, chamber music, songs for musicals, lyrics for popular songs and art songs. He died July 2, 1947 in Paris and is buried in Sèvres. His notable works include: *''The Money Spider'' (opera, circa 1897) *Overture for Shakespeare's

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

, (1899) *Overture for Shakespeare's

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

, (1900) *Overture for Shakespeare's

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

*''Prelude and Fugue, Opus 38'' *''The Birth of Christ'' (cantata, 1901) *''Peggy Machree'' (musical, 1904) *''Dithyramb'', for organ, dedicated to

Clarence Dickinson Clarence Dickinson (May 7, 1873 in Lafayette, Indiana – August 2, 1969 in New York City) was an American composer and organist. Early Life and Studies Dickinson grew up in a religious family. His grandfather was minister Baxter Dickinson. Hi ...

*''The Song of Songs'' (lyrics, 1914) *''The Perfect Song'' (lyrics)

External links

Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, Lucas, Clarence
*

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Clarence 1866 births 1947 deaths 19th-century composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male composers Male composers Musicians from Ontario Toronto College of Music faculty